Vote 2016

Spero

Virginia, a key battleground state in the coming presidential election, has at least 1,046 illegal alien voters registered to go to the polls this November. These illegally registered voters are found in eight different districts in Virginia. Even while it is a felony to commit fraud in voter registration, there is no requirement for positive identification or proof of citizenship.

Virginia joins other states where the integrity of the voting process has been brought into question. A recent study by the Public Interest Foundation (PILF), in cooperation with Virginia Voters Alliance (VVA), suggests that as many as 1,046 illegal alien voters may be registered to vote in as many as six voting districts among the 833 in the Old Dominion state. Entitled “Alien Invasion in Virginia,” the study has led the president of the watchdog group to conclude that Virginia officials are unconcerned by the number of ineligible foreigners who are registered to vote. J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Foundation, also suggested that Virginia officials are actually covering up the practice.

Adams said that in eight of the more than 130 jurisdictions that provided lists of aliens that were recently removed from voter rolls, his organization found that 31 foreigners cast a total of 186 votes between 2005 and 2015. The report was first announced by Breitbart News. Adams argued that the number represents a mere fraction of the number of aliens that may be on the rolls in the rest of the state. The number of aliens on the roles is “staggering, said Adams, who added, that “aliens are casting ballots in a state where elections have been decided by a few hundred votes.”

The problem could be much worse in the state as a whole, said Adams, who said that his group has no data on the remaining 125 jurisdictions. In the small sample examined by the study, nearly 200 verified ballots were cast before they were removed from the rolls, said Adams. “Each one of them is likely a felony.”

The study examined the work of Virginia’s commissioner of elections Edgardo Cortés, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Terence McAuliffe. Cortés previously worked for the leftist Virginia Voting Rights Restoration Campaign. That group was funded by billionaire George Soros, through his Tides Foundation and Open Society Foundations. According to the report, Cortés instructed local election officials to refuse requests for records of the voting history of non-citizens removed from registration lists.

Before Hillary Clinton-supporter McAuliffe gained the governor’s chair in 2014, Virginia officials had used the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to detect and remove aliens from voting rolls. Bowing to the priorities set by Soros’ Advancement Project, Virginia stopped using SAVE to purge voter lists. According to Adams, Democrats dominate the Virginia Board of Elections and told local officials to ignore PILF’s investigation, even though federal law gives PILF the right to inspect documents listing the aliens who were removed from the rolls.

The federal 1993 National Voter Registration Act, a.k.a. “Motor Voter” law, compelled the states to register anyone presenting a driver’s license who checks a box alleging American citizenship. No other evidence is required. However, officials are required to maintain records and remove ineligible voters from the rolls.

When the Virginia Voters Alliance requested City of Alexandria to produce voter records in January 2016, city registrar Anna Leider refused. On behalf of Virginia Voters Alliance, PILF filed suit in federal court. Once the case was in court, Leider promised allowed VVA to examine the voter records. When the examination revealed hundreds of non-citizens on the voter rolls, Leider stopped the VVA from making a photocopy of the list. However, months later, Leider’s attorney offered a list of only 70 aliens that had been removed from the rolls.

Prince William County provided the names of 433 non-citizen registered voters that had been later removed. Bedford County produced 35 names of illegal voters on its rolls. Later, another 54 names were provided to VVA and PILF of voters who were sent notices requiring them to validate eligbility. However, Bedford registrar Barbara Gunter later requested that PILF destroy the list, saying that elections commissioner Corteen later removed, the report said.

Virginia voter commission squelches investigation

Barbara Gunter, the general registrar of Bedford County, which has roughly 60,000 voting age citizens, produced at list of 35 names of illegal voters on the rolls. She also gave up the names of additional 54 voters who were sent notices that they need to validate their eligibility. But soon after her response to VVA and PILF, Gunter called PILF requesting that they destroy the list. She asked for the list to be destroyed because elections commissioner Cortés claimed that she was in violation of the Drivers Privacy Protection Act. The same thing happened in Roanoke County, while in the other 17 jurisdictions, Cortés told them not to honor the watchdog group’s request.

Cortés later offered to VVA and PILF to provide some information, but nothing concerning illegal voters and the purging of illegal voters.

Fraud and moral turpitude are deportable felonies

Fraudulent voter registration is a felony, while fraudulent registration and voting by an illegal or legal alien involves several felonies. Adams noted in the Breitbart piece that groups such as NAACP and the Advancement project receiving funding from George Soro’ foundations, and are litigating to prevent citizenship verification in the voting process. While such groups have long dismissed concerns that non-citizens are voting in US elections, Adams said “Now, we know why,” while also stating that Obama has stopped enforcing laws against fraud.

Legal immigrants, “green card” holders, may be deported if convicted of either what is called a "crime of moral turpitude" or an "aggravated felony.” Certain crimes are specifically listed as being grounds for deportation. While "crimes of moral turpitude" are not well defined in immigration law, guidance from the Department of State indicates that the most common elements of a crime involving moral turpitude will include "fraud, larceny, and intent to harm persons or things." Crimes involving dishonesty and theft, for example, will almost always be considered crimes of moral turpitude. Other include assault with the intent to rob or kill, spousal abuse, and aggravated driving under the influence ("DUI" or "DWI").

The prospect of foreigners voting in American elections gained even more currency in recent days since the shooting rampage by a 20-year-old Turkish national, Aracan Cetin, in Washington State. The young Turk shot to death his girlfriend and two others at a shopping mall and is now in custody to await trial for capital murder. It was also revealed that despite the fact that he is a legal resident alien, not a US citizen, Cetin voted in three elections, most recently in the Democratic primary in Washington.